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Petition update

"Del Playa" Film Update

Kate Michelle

United States

Apr 26, 2016 — Hi friends!

It’s been a while. We had a great amount of momentum, and that momentum quickly turned to waiting. But fear not! I come bearing answers.

In a HUGE system like the University of California, it can take a while for change-makers to hear the concerns of the little guy. Immediately after hearing about Del Playa, Ian + I contacted the UC Regents and Chancellor Yang. We were promised that our concerns would be covered in the next UC Regents meeting, and Chancellor Yang assured us that UCSB was taking the concern of the students very seriously. We quickly heard little else from the University. So we waited.

And waited.

Now here’s the exciting part. We finally heard back from Chancellor Yang and the UC Office of the President. At the latest UC Regents meeting, Del Playa was discussed. The UC Office of the President is now handling the matter of possible UC logo infringement, unauthorized use of images containing UC students, and the effect Del Playa’s release will have on the Isla Vista, UCSB, and UC community. All we ever wanted was for our friends’ memories to be treated with respect, and our little town of Isla Vista to be honored in an appropriate manner. So with the powerful University of California officially on the case, I am happy to report that our petition was a success!

Since August we had our story covered in The LA Times, The Guardian, and our local Santa Barbara Independent. We were hounded by reporters for weeks on end (one unnamed station even called my poor mother in Kentucky..sorry, mom!), and spent many late nights debating the moral gray area in tragedy-based entertainment. But when the parents of the victims began contacting us, we knew we were doing something good. Whether we wanted the responsibility or not, we were in charge of honoring a small bit of the victims’ legacies. And I hope we did right by our friends.

If you want to grab a cup of coffee and hear more about the details/logistics, send me a note! Otherwise, thank you for patience, understanding, and care.